LeBron James has experienced resounding success at every stop of his basketball career. He's won four NBA championships between his stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami Heat, and nearly matched that tally with three Olympic gold medals with Team USA.
As James ends his legendary run with the U.S. men's basketball team, however, he's making sure the attention shifts to those who will carry on the legacy.
James' first stint with Team USA was in 2004, when he followed his rookie NBA season by heading to the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He famously helped lead The Redeem Team in 2008, followed up with another gold medal in 2012, and most recently captured gold in 2024.
In an interview with Brian O'Keefe of Esquire, James named five players who he believes will help lead the future of Team USA basketball—including Duke Blue Devils freshman Cooper FLagg.
"It’s all about the farm system and continuing to grow the younger generation. And we have so much great talent right now in our league as well. You have Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum; you have Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren, these young guys coming up in the ranks; Cooper Flagg, who’s going to be a big-time player here for Team USA down the road. So yeah, absolutely. There’s a lot of great young talent that’s going to want to strive to be an Olympian."
James continued, paying respect to the generation that redeemed Team USA and adding a name to the list of players who will lead the squad into the future: Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker.
"And I think with myself and Steph and KD, and look at Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade and those guys, all these guys kind of set a standard for it within the recent years. I think these younger guys are going to just take that on. I don’t want to forget Devin Booker as well, who’s a great talent and a great, great player, and a great friend of mine, too. So absolutely, I look forward to seeing what happens in the future."
There are few whose praise rings as powerfully as James', which makes his decision to identify specific players who will guide Team USA into the future a remarkable act.
LeBron James names the players who will lead Team USA into the future
James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant took center stage as Team USA won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was a remarkable last hurrah from the three faces of their generation, with all three set to be in their 40s when the 2028 Summer Games roll around.
If Curry, Durant, and James are, in fact, done with Olympic basketball, then the players whom James named will have massive shoes to fill.
At the heart of the group that James named is three-time All-NBA First Team honoree and reigning NBA champion Jayson Tatum. Joining him, in James' eyes, is 2023-24 All-NBA Second Team selection Anthony Edwards, whom many view as the potential face of the Association.
Along with Booker, a two-time All-NBA honoree and two-time Olympic gold medalist who showed out on both ends of the floor in Paris, the young veterans of the team were understandably identified.
The perhaps surprising names whom James listed were Paolo Banchero, Flagg, and Chet Holmgren. All three have superstar potential, but they've yet to make the Olympic roster—making the praise from a four-time NBA MVP all the more compelling.
Banchero is certainly on his way to justifying the hype as the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year and a 2023-24 All-Star who helped the Orlando Magic end a four-year postseason drought.
Holmgren went toe-to-toe with Victor Wembanyama in the race for Rookie of the Year in 2023-24, showcasing elite two-way potential. Flagg, meanwhile, has yet to play an NBA minute, but practiced against Team USA in the lead-up to the Olympics and proved why he's the No. 1 recruit in the country.
Throw in the potential return of Lakers superstar Anthony Davis for another round at the Olympics, and Team USA will be in talented hands come 2028.